The quintet
While performing at a house party in 1954 they met a young singer-songwriter named Richard Barrett from Philadelphia who had sung with a group called The Angels (on Grand). An alternative version given by Phil Groia, in They All Sang on the Corner, states that the group actually met Barrett while he was serenading lovers in a park with his ukulele. Barrett was invited to join the group because they wanted his song "Summer Love", and Barrett's distinctive lead vocals. The original tone of his voice gave the Valentines a sound that is still appreciated today. Now a quintet, The Dreamers adopted the name, The Valentines, taken from the title of Mickey Francis' favorite song "My Funny Valentine". At this point their friend Raoul Cita of The Harptones brought them to Monte Bruce of Bruce Records where they did a "Summer Love" demo. Although DJ and unofficial mayor of Harlem Willie Bryant played the tape on local radio station WOV for a month, Bruce never issued it or recorded the group again. At this time, before the arrival of Alan Freed, New York Rhythm and Blues radio was dominated by Tommy ("Dr Jive") Smalls on WWRL.
The group did not have a contract with Bruce and when they came to the attention of Hy Weiss of Old Town Records he was able to sign them. Donald Razor from The Velvets (on Red Robin) came in to replace Hogan who was proving unreliable. In December 1954, Weiss issued the superb Barrett-penned love song "Tonight Kathleen", backed with a re-cut of "Summer Love". Although popular locally, this ballad did not chart due to Old Town's poor distribution at this early time in their trading, and it has become a very rare record. Following this disappointment the group concentrated on their stage-work and built on their popularity.
In mid-1955, Eddie Edgehill replaced Donald Razor as second tenor and the group moved to George Goldner's Rama label where they issued the chime-harmonised rocker "Lily Maebelle" in September. In all probability Barrett and Briggs wrote the song about Pop Brigg's sister Lil. This recording was punctuated by Jimmy Wright's energetic sax break, which was a common feature of many recordings on Goldner's labels, Rama and Gee. The recording became an East Coast favorite and the group made many appearances on Alan Freed shows at the Academy of Music and Brooklyn Paramount. They also performed at the Apollo, Howard, and Royal Theatres, and with shows hosted by other famous DJs of the time, Hal Jackson and Jocko Henderson. At this point the group began appearing on stage with what was to become their trademark - white jackets with red cloth hearts ("valentines") on the pockets, red shirts and pink bowties.
Their next releases were "I Love You Darling" followed by the holiday ballad "Christmas Prayer". In April 1956 came their biggest hit, "The Woo Woo Train".
Marv Goldberg maintains that George Goldner had the Valentines sing backup on The Wrens' "C'est La Vie", at the "Woo Woo" session, because only Bobby Mansfield and George Magnezid of the Wrens had showed up to record "C'est La Vie" that day. The Valentines were not credited. Music historians Charlie and Pam Horner repeat this claim. If true, that would put seven voices on that song. Mitch Rosalsky disputes this claim. Marv Goldberg's article is based on an interview with Ronnie Bright in 1977. Rosalsky, however, bases his evidence on the memory of The Wrens' Bobby Mansfield in 2000.
The ballads "Twenty Minutes (Before the Hour)" and "Natures Creation" followed, but were not widely appreciated at the time. At the group's final session, Carl Hogan returned to replace Eddie Edgehill, and David Clowney from US band The Pearls (on Onyx) took Raymond Briggs' place. Another ballad, "Don't Say Goodnight", was cut but had little sales success.
Doo-wop is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until the early 1960s, but continued to influence performers in other genres.
Franklin Joseph Lymon was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group The Teenagers. The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Frankie Lymon, Jimmy Merchant, and Sherman Garnes; and two Puerto Rican members, Joe Negroni and Herman Santiago. The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also their biggest hit. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and that of the Teenagers fell into decline. He was found dead at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. His life was dramatized in the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall in Love.
The Teenagers are an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead singer, is also noted for being rock's first all-teenaged act. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
The Turbans were an American doo-wop vocal group that formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1953. The original members were: Al Banks, Matthew Platt, Charlie Williams (baritone), and Andrew "Chet" Jones (bass). They came from Downtown Philadelphia.
Herman Santiago is a Puerto Rican rock and roll pioneer and songwriter who was previously a member of the vocal group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. He (disputedly) co-wrote the group's iconic hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".
The Wrens were an American doo-wop vocal group from The Bronx, New York City. They are best known for their song "Come Back My Love".
Doo Wop 50 was a PBS pledge drive special created and produced for PBS member station WQED-TV by TJ Lubinsky, grandson of Herman Lubinsky. The special was inspired by a 1994 CD box-set of doo wop music produced and sold by Rhino Records, which was also a development and production partner in the special. It aired on December 5, 1999.
George Goldner was an American record label owner, record producer and promoter who played an important role in establishing the popularity of rock and roll in the 1950s, by recording and promoting many groups and records that appealed to young people across racial boundaries. Among the acts he discovered were the Crows, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and Little Anthony and the Imperials.
The Chantels are a pop music group and were the second African-American girl group to enjoy nationwide success in the United States, preceded by The Bobbettes. The group was established in the early 1950s by students attending St. Anthony of Padua Church and school in the Bronx.
Joe Negroni was an American singer of Puerto Rican descent. He was a rock and roll pioneer and founding member of the rock and roll group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
Richard Barrett, also known as Richie Barrett, was an American singer, record producer, and songwriter.
"Gee", is a song by American R&B and Doo-wop group the Crows, released in June 1953. The song has been credited as the first rock and roll hit by a rock and roll group. It is a doo-wop song, written by William Davis and Viola Watkins, and recorded by the Crows on the independent label, Rama Records, at Beltone Studios in New York City in February 1953. It charted in April 1954, one year later. It took a year to get recognized on Your Hit Parade. It landed No.2 on the rhythm and blues chart and No. 14 on the pop chart. It was the first 1950s doo-wop record to sell over one million records. Recorded on an independent label, it was one of the first such R&B records to crossover to the wider pop market. In fact, some, including Jay Warner, consider it as the first of the "rock n' roll records".
Prentice Moreland was an American R&B and doo wop singer of the 1950s and early 1960s.
The Capris are an American doo wop group who became a one-hit wonder in 1961 with "There's a Moon Out Tonight." They experienced a popularity and performing resurgence in the 1980s, when three members reformed and The Manhattan Transfer recorded their song, "Morse Code of Love," which reached the US Hot 100 and the U.S. AC top 20.
The Solitaires are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1957 hit single "Walking Along". Although they never had a national chart hit, they were one of the most popular vocal groups in New York in the late 1950s.
Ronald David Bright was an American R&B and doo-wop singer of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was born in New York City.
The Students were an American doo-wop vocal group, which formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1957. Although they only released four sides, two of them – "I'm So Young" and "Every Day of the Week" – became doo-wop standards. "I'm So Young" in particular became popular and durable, and has been covered by the Beach Boys, Rosie and the Originals, The Ronettes and Kid Kyle and "The Students".
The Passions are an American doo-wop group from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The quintet recorded a few demos in 1958, at which time Tony, Albee and Vinny began looking for replacements who were more career-minded. Another group in Bensonhurst had what they needed; when the three Sinceres heard Runarounds lead singer Jimmy Gallagher, they knew he was the one for them. The Sinceres weren’t sure how to approach Jimmy, so they followed him home one night and knocked on his door. After convincing his mother that they only wanted to sing with her son, not mug him, the foursome went to a nearby park and ended up harmonizing for hours. They were now a quartet, with Jimmy on lead, Tony on first tenor, Albee on second tenor, and Vinnie on baritone. In 1959, while the Mystics were recording "Hushabye" at their first session, their friend Tony Armato was there cheering them on promoting his own group to their manager, Jim Gribble. Gribble soon signed the Sinceres and renamed them the Passions. He gave them a demo by a duo of studio singers who called themselves the Cousins. The song was "Just to Be with You" written by Mary Kalfin. The Cousins were Paul Simon and Carole King. By the time the group recorded "Gloria" Vinny had left and been replaced by Gallagher’s friend Lou Rotondo. Also in 1960 Lou Rotondo and Albie Galione, along with Albie Contrera of the Mystics, sang behind Clay Cole on "Here, There, Everywhere" (Roulette), single that became popular in the New York area. Audicon Records lost the group’s next release, the harmony rocker "Made for Lovers." The group recorded a few more sides for Audicon which were leased to Jubilee and Octavia. Released in August 1959 on Sol Winkler’s Audicon label, the Passions’ impeccable harmonies and Gallagher’s impassioned lead put "Just to Be with You" on radios across America. It was a top 20 hit in many eastern cities and it charted nationally, rising to number 69. The follow-up out of Audicon’s 1674 Broadway digs was twice as good. Both sides—the harmony filled "I Only Want You" and the beautiful Billy Dawn Smith ballad "This Is My Love" –vied for radio play and sales throughout the states. They were managed by Jim Gribble who managed several doo-wop groups including the Mystics and The Jarmels, and worked with producer songwriter Stan Vincent. In the late 1990s, they reunited with the Mystics and the Classics for the Brooklyn Reunion Show. Lead singer Jimmy Gallagher left the Passions in 1960 to join the Navy, but later sang with The Legends of Doo Wop in 1998.
Lillian Leach, also known by her married name, Lillian Leach Boyd, was an American singer who performed lead vocals with the Bronx-based doo-wop group the Mellows. She was noted for her mellifluous voice and wistful singing style. The Mellows recorded several hit songs in the 1950s, including "Smoke From Your Cigarette", "Yesterday's Memories", and "How Sentimental Can I Be?"
The Hollywood Saxons were a Los Angeles R&B group who recorded under various other names. They were well known on the LA R&B circuit. Their recording history ran from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Their discography is complex due to the various names they recorded under and labels they recorded on.
